Just a question, if you didn't know whether you would or would not be spending Thanksgiving at home, would you have purchased partial items, or nothing at all? To save a trip, I might have gotten the potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and maybe a Turkey breast that I could have eaten another time should we have decided to go somewhere else, but I wonder if others would do the same?
I would've, although I should qualify that statement by saying I like to cook. I haven't seen it stated either way whether MR does or doesn't cook. With how much he's on the road I'm guessing not.
Personally if I were already at the store anyway, especially if the store's far away, I'd get the following ahead to save on gas and time. Almost all of it would freeze or keep for quite awhile. If I were already planning a trip later in the week I'd probably wait until I knew for sure where Thanksgiving dinner would be, although the shopping list would probably be the same.
- Turkey breast or thigh - either is probably be enough to serve MR and DR I'd think, with leftovers if only one of them ate it. I'd do this even if I wasn't sure about having Thanksgiving at my house just to have some turkey at home to make sandwiches with in case of no leftovers from somewhere else.
- Potatoes - I prefer fresh, but some of the dry instant potatoes are pretty good. I'm picky so I'd only get either fresh or Idahoan instant..lol.. but I know some people like all of the boxed ones fine.
- Vegetables - I might grab a package of something frozen, or a can of green beans (maybe stuff to make green bean casserole - I do a homemade version but thinking like someone who doesn't cook much, I might get the cream of mushroom soup and the onion topping stuff)
- Stuffing mix (the cubes and seasoning kind) plus onion and celery
- Chicken stock
- Can of olives
- Can of cranberry sauce
- Gravy no, but I have ingredients on hand to make it from the pan the turkey is roasted in
- Frozen rolls (or fresh brown and serve - they're cheap so having to throw out a few later wouldn't be a big deal)
- Loaf of bread (for sandwiches)
- Frozen pie and can of whipped cream
I'm stereotyping here but let's just say MR doesn't enjoy shopping or cooking much - most of the above seems to show up on grocery store end-caps, often even bunched together, to make it really easy to shop for. Other than the meat and frozen stuff, this whole trip might only entail going to one or two spots in the store. I probably wouldn't bother buying part of the meal ahead and the rest right before, but if I were buying ahead I think most of this stuff would be fine a week or even 1.5 weeks beforehand (if turkey's frozen).
Another popular item at least around here has been the "dinner in a box" where the grocery store basically makes everything and you just take it home to heat it up. I think you have to pick those up no earlier than a few days before. I'm not a fan personally but I know a lot of people, especially single parents or those who don't like to cook, really like these.
Now that you guys know way more about my holiday shopping than you ever wanted to know
, I'm not sure the reason for the question, but I have wondered if any Thanksgiving-y food was found in MR's house. If there wasn't I don't think it's all that meaningful, since the holiday was still a few days away. If there was, it tells me there was at least some pre-planning into the possibility of having Thanksgiving dinner at his house.
